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$999 For a Complete DNA Scan, Worth it?
DoroSurfer writes "ZDNet is reporting that 23andme.com will open its doors on Monday, allowing you to send them a cheek swab and have your DNA analyzed for $999 (plus shipping, of course... ;)). So what's a thousand bucks buy you? They can tell you your ancient ancestry, They can tell you what diseases you're predisposed to, They give you a "Gene Explorer" that allows you to do a search in your genome to find out if you have a certain gene (e.g., you just heard on the news that Gene XYZ has been linked to Alzheimer's Disease)."
Hopefully this wont become mandatory for job applications, like credit reports are in some cases...
No sig for the moment.
I'm going to wait for the full genome scan. Early adopters here will be getting much less than the real thing. With X-prize still contests around for genome scanning, it should not be too long. I want every C, T, G, and A.
After that, I'm all for it. Not even a needle prick is needed.
$99.98
You come from monkeys
I'm a 6' 5" muscular, blonde, blue-eyed swede. I can tell pretty well what my DNA is, it's AWESOME, thank you! So no it's not worth a grand.
I got a catholic block.
Need information yoda does.
So basically, -1 troll/offtopic is really slashdots way of saying "I hate that you thought of something before me."
...it reveals my latent mutant abilities. I'm personally hoping to find out I can generate fire.
GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
How long will it be before they "lose" the gene data? Or maybe "share" the data?
Also given that the CEO is Sergey Brins wife, I wonder whether Google will get involved at one point?
This has already been mentioned, except last time the spotlight was on deCODEme by deCODE genetics which offers more details (1m vs. 600k "sites" of the genome) for less ($985 vs. $999).
I'd love to hear about the results, though.
For rich hypocondriacs. More seriously, I wonder what the implications are for the insurance, medical and even dating industries.
Very much worth it if one is interested in learning about and working to minimize one's genetic risks.
> $999 For a Complete DNA Scan
The word is "scam", not
"scan".
A nice call from your insurance company informing you that they are dropping your coverage due to a genetic predisposition for X disease.
I'm not tense. I'm just terribly, terribly, alert.
I have a grandfather with Alzheimer's disease, a disease which if treated early can be very effectively treated extending your life and more importantly to me improving the *quality* of life. This disease begins with no symptoms and progresses slowly going possibly untreated for years. I for one would like the head start.
TODO create witty sig.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
With regard to being 'worth it'. It's also worth noting that despite the article title, this isn't a complete sequence. 23andMe will scan ~550,000 Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) out of the (roughly) 10 million SNPs humans have, which is again quite different from a complete sequencing of the 3 billion base pairs in human DNA.
Windows in 6 Bytes (IA-32) : 90 90 90 90 CD 19
People frequently confuse microarray SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) studies with an actual DNA scan that identifies all 3 billion A,C,T and G bases in the human genome. This $1000 option looks at about 2 million KNOWN sites which vary between people. These mutations are not the ones that actually code for a disease, but because they happen to be NEAR the actual ones that do on the chromosomes, it is assumed that if you have the SNP mutation, you will have the disease-prone variant in your genome as well. The problem with this technique is that it only measures variants that we know about, whereas a true complete DNA scan would be the "gold standard" and provide you with the most detailed information possible. Unfortunately, a true DNA sequencing of this variety runs about $100000.
Our doctor advised us once that we should not do genetic assays unless it was a serious health situation. Anything that you learn in the negative direction may be grounds for future denial of health insurance coverage. If you're just curious -- it is probably better not to know.
As a science junkie (but engineer by day), it seems apparent that genetics technology could be as big as (if not bigger) than computer technology has been for the past twenty years. The problem is, someone with a BS in Software Engineering or Computer Science will start out making $50-%70k, while someone with a BS in Biology will only make about $30k. With those kinds of numbers, a scientifically inclined undergrad would be making a huge gamble by selecting Bio as a major.
My hope is that services like this will start to provide jobs for our current Bio grads, pushing the salaries up to a level that makes the choice of a Biology major much more desirable. Only then will the genetic revolution really start to take off.
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
I can't find who the CEO of 23andme is (after only 30 sec of research), but Anne Wojcicki is indeed at least co-founder of the company and member of the Board of Directors: https://www.23andmeobjects.com/res/1570/pdf/factsheet.pdf
Oh and Google is already involved in this company, they are an investor: https://www.23andme.com/about/corporate
the most surprising thing i have read so far is that there are still movie theatres charging less than $10!!
I forgot what I wanted to say, but honestly, it was important.
Having been previously misdiagnosed with Leukemia and acting on that diagnoses for almost a year, I can tell you that being told that I'm predisposed to something would make every day difficult and worrisome. Shoudl I eat that? Why do I have a headache? My feet are hot, is that a sign?
I would rather have it surprise me and then live every day for what it's worth. Else you might think you sick and run up a bunch of bills you can't pay when you find out you're fine.
National Geographic has a project called The Genographic Project that will take your DNA and trace the ancient travels of your ancestry. It costs $100+S&H and your data is stored along with an anonymous code only you know (before you send it in.) Then the group takes all of the data it gets and puts it all together to further their research.
The team behind the project has already collected thousands of samples from people worldwide who have interesting lineages (Indiginous people in xyz area) and found out some REALLY cool stuff.
The $1k thing seems like a privacy nightmare though.
-nick
Exactly, and we don't have any particular reason to believe at this point, that those 550k include all of the ones that would be interesting anyways. A complete sequence would be far more useful even before we know what everything does, because later on one could reinterpret the sequence without having to do it a second time.
One could much more easily go in later and interpret the sequence, than have to do it a second time to fill in the missing gaps.
Personally, I'm going to pass at least until I can have my entire DNA sequenced. I may even then wait depending upon the level of concern I have for what is done with the information.
Well, if somebody finds my Netflix data, they may find out my most secret movie preferences. If insurance companies or employers link me to my DNA and discover a genetic pre-disposition to brain cancer or a debilitating disease, I'll never get health insurance again, and the misfortune will probably extend to any offspring as well. And would anybody hire you (and again, your children) if you have a genetic pre-disposition to MS or some other debilitating condition? Prospective employers are already googling for damaging Facebook information; just wait until genes enter the mix!
Until good privacy protections and anti-discriminatory legislation are in place, we're talking about a whole different level of risk. -- Paul
OpenSource.MathCancer.org: open source comp bio
What if I sent a swab from a perspective mate to see what genetic anomalies she may contribute to offspring? What if I sent a swab from my child to see what genetic anomalies they may have? In neither case would it be consensual.
After that...I wonder how long before the various branches of government will require this DNA data be turned over for the US Homeland security national DNA database?? Of course, we won't know about it...this will be required with a national security letter, which will gag the company from even mentioning the requirement.
More and more I find that Python wasn't just being funny with the skit "The Importance of not being Seen", they were prophetical.....
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Alanis Morisette. That damn "Ironic" song isn't even ironic. It is the damn Murphys law!
Aren't there laws about illegal wire tapping?
Do you mean throw?
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They don't need to have everyone in the database to effectively have a DNA tracking of all citizens. If one person in your family is in the database then you are in the database.
In addition to the fee they collect from you this company might be recieving your tax money through an outsourcing program to the help populate the government database or they may strictly maintain client confidentiality until they receive a national security letter from the department of homeland surveillance, but the end result is the same.
In my previous post I linked to a 4 year old cnn article to show that the government has been using questionable means to populate codis for quite some time now and I doubt that this government intrusion into personal privacy will be exposed until it is too late and the entire population is effectively mapped.
We have the best government that money can buy.